This biography of Jessica Mitford, fifth of the six famous Mitford Girls, tells the wild and unlikely story of a British aristocrat who became an American Communist, bringing her astonishing self-transformation to life with a riveting, often hilarious, account of trading wealth and status for a life of radical activism.

Who could predict that a British aristocrat would so energize American antiwar and civil rights struggles that Time magazine would crown her “Queen of the Muckrakers”? Jessica Mitford, fifth of the six famous “Mitford Girls,” was brought up by an eccentric English family to marry well and reproduce her wealth and privilege, not to advocate for the less advantaged. Her five beautiful sisters have been subjects of books and movies dedicated to their naughty, glamorous lives. Jessica—known as Decca—ran away to America to forge a wilder rebel’s life. As this richly researched book details, Decca broke the Mitford mold—fighting fascism in the Spanish Civil War, becoming an American Communist and pioneering witty, wildly popular journalism, including her blockbuster The American Way of Death, placing her at the heart of social justice battles. Decca relentlessly injected laughter into her politics, encouraging the activists she influenced to do likewise. From famed baby doctor Benjamin Spock to best friend Maya Angelou, her anti-authoritarian irreverence had a profound impact on American culture. Mining extensive, untapped sources, Kaplan’s passionate biography of an unlikely life demonstrates that Decca’s social empathy was hard-won and self-taught, a model with particular relevance today and a powerful, modern example of female adventure and freedom.